Spirit Blood: Genesis of War

When Jason’s army first headed for the battlefield, Ken and Garrett moved from within the trees and stood up the hill watching over the battle. Their inexperienced men were beginning to rethink their decision to fight waiting for their chance to join the battle. Ken realized his men were losing their will to fight, so he decided the best course of action would be to send some of them on the west flank and attempt to trap the Dread Army in with Jason leading the front and Lockefren the east.

“Garrett, take your army to the west flank and try to keep the enemy pinned to the middle. Otherwise, we’re going to lose half our men to fear before they’ve even had a chance to fight,” Ken said to his brother.

“I’m going too!” Iwo announced, ready for a fight.

“Of course you are,” Garrett replied with a smirk.

Ken surveyed the battle with his small army of men waiting behind him for his command. The battle seemed equal in skill, even though the Dread Army outnumbered theirs by incredible amounts. Where are we most needed, he asked himself, ready to fight. Soon his question was answered as the siege weapons Lockefren commanded were successful in breaking down the fortified wall surrounding the city on the east side. Swarms of drones and creatures came out of the large opening in the wall headed straight for Lockefren and Ben’s groups. Without haste, Ken ordered his men to the east flank to help out the battle weary elves and their men.

For what seemed to be hours, Lockefren and Ben continued to blast the castle and the city walls with their siege weapons while loosing an onslaught of arrows where needed. They were fighting soldiers from

the east as well as trying to steer clear of the large cannons shooting from the castle walls. The cannons were becoming too much of a burden, however, as they were beginning to lose too many of their own siege weapons.

“Ben, we can’t stay here! We’ll only be taken down by their cannons! We’re losing too many as it is!” Lockefren shouted.

Suddenly the last of their siege weapons was successful in breaking down a gaping hole in the city gates giving them an easy way into the city, but as quickly as the wall fell, a swarm of the enemy came out running towards their opponents.

Ben looked at Lockefren and suddenly his heart melted. He knew now he would have to fight hand to hand beside her. If she were to fall, could he continue to fight or would he be too preoccupied with worry for her? The menacing faces of creatures charging towards him, as he looked once again at the wall, brought him back to the battle. He and Lockefren, along with their army, prepared for close combat.

“Ben!” Lockefren yelled. “Can you hear that?! We’re about to have company!”

From behind them in the forest, the two elves could hear a distinct rustling of the trees and bush. The sound could be nothing more than a swarm of men and horses racing through. Ben immediately took his men and positioned them behind Lockefren’s group and readied their bows for whatever may be bursting soon from out of the forest. Lockefren’s company readied their bows aiming at the creatures coming at them from the wall hoping to give Ben’s enough time to take down whatever was coming from behind.

“Don’t fire until I give the word!” Lockefren commanded to her company.

“We must be steady and await the perfect time to strike,” Ben told his men.

The archers stood ready to open fire. As the sound got louder from the rear, and the army closer from the front, the hands on some of the bows began to shake finding it hard to stand their ground.

“Steady!” The elves shouted with confidence.

The noise from the rear grew and grew until finally horses and men began to charge out of the forest.

“Fire!”

Both sides unleashed a storm of arrows cutting down may charging for them. As the two enemies neared the elves’ companies, they unsheathed their swords and began a battle of sword play. After only a short while, the two Elvin-lead companies were being pushed together until they were eventually back to back fighting their gaining enemies. We’re losing too many, Ben thought as he continued to fight the many drones before him. A horn could be heard in the near distance sounding an attack. Ben and Lockefren both knew that if this was yet another charge from the enemy, they would surely fall here. Risking a glance towards the forest, Ben triumphantly witnessed the heroic stampede of Ken’s men. Having boosted their courage by seeing their comrades outnumbered, yet fighting with all their might, Ken’s men bravely fought the army that had pushed back Ben’s company, so that Ben’s men could help Lockefren’s battle the creatures coming from the city. The three companies were able to successfully drive back the Dread Army down into the gaping whole in the city wall. The castle cannons were still firing, so following behind the dark army would surely cause them many casualties.

“We can fortify ourselves here,” Ben said to Ken and Lockefren. “As long as we’re out of range for those cannons, we should be able to fight from all sides and see them coming before they reach us.”

“This is all true, but until those cannons are put out of commission, we’re just sitting here waiting for more of their army to attack,” Lockefren pointed out. “We can’t just do nothing. Those cannons have to be destroyed.”

So far, there hadn’t been any surprises for Jason’s army. Both they and the enemy before them waited

for the command to engage one another. The castle cannons were focused on firing on the east side, however, if his forces moved forward into range, surely the cannons would turn back towards them. The battle couldn’t continue until they were sure the cannons wouldn’t be able to destroy them before ever reaching the Dread Army.

The city gates closed housing a large number of soldiers right behind them and shutting out a larger number to fight the three separate flanks. With the arrival of Garrett’s army to the west side, standing ground and waiting, Garrett joined Jason and Terrell.

“We’ve got to destroy the turrets on the castle walls,” Garrett suggested.

“We’ve got two on their way inside right now. If we could only get word to them,” Terrell replied.

Jason didn’t say anything. From his position he could still see Léon and the other four Dark Commanders patiently sitting on their horses. None of the five had made a move towards fighting or anything else. Jason wondered if Léon was simply just waiting for him to approach and start the fight. He slowly, almost in a trance, steered his horse towards them.

“Where are you going?” Terrell asked him.

“I have someone to meet,” Jason replied, halting his horse. “I have a plan. Are you with me?”

Both Garrett and Terrell widened their eyes and replied, “Sure.”

The three rode away towards the Dark Commanders and Léon, leaving their officers to command the armies.

Léon sat upon his horse watching only the knight. He cared little about the battle or the damage that would be done to Talkain. All of his concern was in defeating, once and for all, the only person who’d ever survived a fight with him. The four commanders waiting with him knew of the feud between the

two. They were only there to overlook the battle, kill anyone foolish enough to try and breach the front gates and lend their services, or lives, to Léon if necessary. When Jason pulled away from his army to converge with the two other men, Léon closely watched him. He knew Jason was just as determined to meet with him as he was with the knight. The first sign of emotion came over his face when he realized the knight and his two friends were headed towards them. Finally, we can commence where we left off, he thought to himself.

Speaking to the man on his left, Léon said, “You may have a chance to fight the knight wearing the silver and gold helmet. I wish to see if either of you have grown in talent.”

“My pleasure, General,” the Dark Commander hissed.

The commander rode out about fifty feet from where he had been stationed. With only his cold eyes revealed behind his robotic mask, it was impossible to see if he was smiling, however, the commander wore a large grin of greedy satisfaction. Léon had spoken only briefly about the knight, but he’d heard stories of his skill. He yearned for a chance to fight the one man Léon had been forced to leave alive.

“So, you’re the mighty general of this ragtag army?” The commander arrogantly asked Jason once he had come within hearing distance.

Jason positioned himself to face the commander. Terrell and Garrett both kept a thirty feet distance from Jason.

“Do you really think you have the power to stop us? If you do then you have filled your mind, and the witless minds of your army, with foolishness,” the commander taunted.

Jason merely activated his retractable shield sending it humming.

“I see. You’re not a man for talking. Good. I’d rather get this started myself,” the commander stated.

With that, the Dark Commander spurred his horse causing her to stand up on her hind legs. As she

landed she took off in a hard sprint towards Jason who only sat still and motionless. The commander’s double ended serrated sword did not hum, revealing to Jason it must be made of something stronger than a normal tech-blade. He charged with a wild yell. As the commander drew close, Jason raised his sword to the side holding it steady. With one easy motion, Jason ducked, covering his head with his shield, and twisted his body to drive his sword deep into the commander’s mid-section and off of his horse. The commander rose to his feet with haste as Jason turned his horse around to face off with him again.

“You cut me! You actually cut me!” The commander yelled in shock, staring at his bloody wound. “No one has ever touched me before. For that you will die!”

Jason dismounted his horse and stood in a strong fighting stance. The commander mimicked his stance, trying to taunt Jason.

“Oh let’s see…do I stand like this? I suppose champions stand like this, huh?” The commander sneered, again attempting to anger Jason by mocking him.

Jason’s patience held out, but the commander had tired of sitting and watching others fight. He lunged at his opponent with a low slash, but was quickly parried by Jason who himself felt he could almost sense the shot coming. Jason made the next move, shoving the dark blade aside, and diagonally slashing up and back down, trying to widen the wound on his opponent’s abdomen. The shot was parried by the commander with expert timing. Each movement by both men was fluid and without flaw. The commander beaded with sweat. He was furious the fight could last this long without his opponent not having a mark to show for it. In his fury, he made a grievous error, and left himself wide open after coming down with a series of power blows. The commander couldn’t seem to manage the weapon proficiently enough to quickly re-guard his body. Jason took advantage of this and dropped low, delivering a lunging thrust and driving his sword deep into the commander’s chest when he raised up for

another blow.

“You…beat…me…imposs…” the Dark Commander uttered before he fell to the ground, dead.

Jason didn’t see why it would be impossible. He retrieved his sword and stood his ground awaiting Léon’s next move. The fallen commander instantly ignited into flames.

“One down, four to go,” Jason said out loud from behind his mask.

Jashel and Nephida carefully walked down the long dark narrow corridor. So far there hadn’t been any signs to indicate the secrecy of the corridor had been revealed. After some time, they found a secret door that entered into a long hallway. Along the hallway were three doors. Two of the doors appeared to be locked, but one was not. They slowly peeked inside the door and found, yet another, hallway. A dim light could be seen from the end of the hallway.

“Well, I guess we try this one first,” Jashel said.

The closer they got to the light, the more Jashel sensed an impending danger.

“I have a bad feeling about this Nephida,” Jashel whispered. “I hate to admit it now, but maybe this was the wrong door to take.”

Nephida gripped her rifle tighter, “Well, we’re here now and the other two doors were locked, so it’s better to go forward than turn back. Just remember why we’re here. It’ll help you to go on.”

Sure, Jashel thought to herself. Of course, being able to help Makaylen was a good reason to risk her life, but he’d never even shown her any attention different than he’d shown everyone else. Here I am risking my life for someone that doesn’t want anything more from me than a friendship. Before she could begin to argue with herself, they reached the end of the hallway to see only a wall. There were no doors, just the faint light coming from the other side of the wall.

“Now what?” Nephida asked

Jashel looked around trying to find something out of the ordinary. She’d broken into too many fortified places not to know that light coming from the other side of a wall meant there was a secret door. Somewhere in this hallway there must be a hidden switch. After careful searching, she found a stone which looked slightly different than the rest situated right next to Nephida’s side where she kept her rifle.

“Neph, reach over with your gun hand and feel around for an odd shaped rock,” Jashel said.

Nephida did as she was instructed and found the stone.

“Perfect. Now turn it clockwise.”

Nephida turned it clockwise until it clicked and moved into place. The wall in front of them began to shape itself into an opening leading into a cylinder shaped room filled with electronics and flashing lights. Screens flashing DNA chains lined the room along with several fluorescent colored beakers, vials and tubes bubbling and smoking over small burners. A lady dressed in a flowing black gown and veil stood in front of one of the screens with her back to the opened wall. The two women entered the room with their weapons drawn waiting to see if the lady in black was going to turn around. A breeze entered the room causing the lady in black to abruptly turn and glower at the two women.

“Who are you?! How did you get in here?” She asked coldly, having never known of the secret doorway.

“We have no fight with you. We just wish to pass and be about our business,” Nephida replied, hoping the lady wasn’t going to delay them.

“On the contrary, if I do not know you then you are against me. Which means, you do indeed have a fight we me, lady,” the lady in black retorted.

“Have it your way,” Nephida remarked, raising her rifle to shoot the lady.

“Oh, please. I’ve no time for you,” she replied.

With only a minor gesture by the dark lady, Nephida’s rifle began to bend and melt in her grasp. Nephida threw it to the floor watching as it became only a pile of goo.

“You see girls, you are entirely outmatched,” the woman said giving a sideways glance to them.

“Huh,” Jashel jested to Nephida, “I don’t think she’s going to let us by.”

Nephida drew her one-handed long sword and a dagger from their scabbards as she commented, “Then I guess we’ll have to make her see it our way.”

Jashel readied herself as well, but the woman only turned away focusing again on the screen, “I really don’t have time to play right now. But perhaps my guards can oblige you.”

Two slender shadows began to rise from the ground on both sides of the dark woman. The shadows twisted until they came to resemble two ten feet tall beasts of shadow with no facial features except a pair of red eyes and long claws on the ends of their shadow arms. Both Nephida and Jashel reared back in shock.

“What in Krysala is that?!” Jashel snapped.

Nephida leapt at her opponent with fury swiping at the creature’s legs, but her blade only slashed through the air as if fighting smoke.

“Uh, I don’t know, but they can’t be hit,” Nephida remarked, backing away from her opponent.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the woman we need to destroy,” Jashel announced before rolling between the legs of the enclosing shadow in front of her.

She sprinted up and headed for the woman, but the creature turned around, stretched out its arm, and swatted her to the wall.

“Jashel!” Nephida yelled as she watched her small friend going airborne into the hard stone wall.

Her attention quickly came back to her creature just before it clawed her across the belly driving her to the floor in agony. She struggled to look at her wound which was sizzling as if touched by acid. In the background she could hear the lady in black laughing, still with her back turned to them. Nursing her wound, Nephida stood up with one hand on her stomach and the other still holding her long sword.

Jashel finally got to one knee trying to shake off her dizziness. A searing pain was coming from the back of her skull. She touched the area where it hurt only to feel a sticky substance in her hair. Looking at her hand she saw that it was coated in blood. This isn’t good, she thought to herself, looking around the room which was blurry at best. I have to get to that woman. She holds the key to these things. She’d dealt with magi before and knew they were never an easy fight. However, this time it wasn’t a mere trinket riding on her succession, it was the lives of her friends. There was no room for failure. She shot to her feet, still dizzy with her concussion, and took off for the woman. This time she was aware of her opponent’s reach and was able to hear the creature swinging his long arm through the air, since this was the only sound they made. She ducked, rolled and stood up right in front of the woman grasping a vile. Jashel grabbed the vial before the woman could react, ducked under her arm and did a few back handsprings to put distance between them.

“I think I have something you may want,” Jashel teased, waving the vial like a treat for a dog.

The woman only smirked, pretending she didn’t care, but motioned for the shadows to back off the two ladies. They stood next to her like shrouded statues awaiting her next command. Obviously Jashel had something of real importance or the woman wouldn’t be ready to barter so quickly. What am I holding exactly? She wondered to herself.

“Ok, you’re far too clever a thief for me, I suppose. What might you like in trade for the vial?” The woman asked, trying to hold in her apprehension.

“Well, I was admiring your jewelry. Why don’t you show me what all you’ve got on and maybe I can go window shopping,” Jashel said in her cocky way.

“Fine,” the woman said, pulling out three necklaces from under the collar of her dress and displaying her ringed fingers before the thief, “take what you want. I can have any of these things given to me whenever I desire.”

Jashel carefully examined each of the items on the woman searching for any that may have magical properties. She was running short of ideas on how to get out of this room in one piece. If she could just find some kind of leverage, maybe they’d survive this encounter.

“What are you doing?” Nephida asked Jashel hoping the little thief wasn’t actually ‘window shopping.’

Jashel only shushed her as she continued to inspect the fine jewels. Being the professional that she was, Jashel noticed a small bulge under the collar of the woman’s dress. Apparently one necklace had been left concealed.

“I want the necklace you still have hidden in your dress,” Jashel said like a child making a deal.

The woman only smiled, “You are an observant little pest, aren’t you? I believe this game has gone far enough. It is time you knew exactly who you are dealing with.” The woman pulled off her veil exposing her pale white skin and black eyes and lips, “I am Giselle Leluna, High Priestess of the Order of Demon Magi. I am the founder of the Abyssal High Council and head of the Order of Shadow. When you deal with me, you deal with the dead and most evil. You will NOW relinquish that vile before I pluck it from your sticky fingers, boil you alive and devour your very flesh!”

Jashel’s mind raced for an idea. This was definitely not what she was hoping to happen. Slowly her and Nephida began to backup easing their way to the door that exited to the castle.

“Oh no ladies, you’re not going anywhere,” Giselle warned.

With a wave of her hand the room turned pitch black blinding Nephida immediately. Jashel, however, could still see. A sound echoed in the small room as the opening in the wall from where they had entered the room melded back into a solid wall. Nephida felt around trying to find Jashel, but Jashel looked around trying to figure out if Giselle could see in this darkness as well. The two shadow creatures seemed to be gone, or had they just blended into the darkness? Jashel feared the latter. Was Giselle powerful enough to conjure both spells simultaneously or did the darkness spell cancel out the shadow guards?

“Now where’s your quick wit, thief?” Giselle asked arrogantly.

“What are you talking about?” Jashel asked, continuously moving so Giselle couldn’t lock on to her location. “I still have the vial and you’re blind as a bat.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you,” Giselle dryly said. “I may not be able to see you with my normal eyes, but I can feel you everywhere.” Giselle then turned and faced Jashel as if she could see her clearly, “This is my domain and it bends to my control!”

Before she finished her sentence, Giselle grabbed a nearby staff with both hands and drove Jashel across the room with an upward swing to her jaw. Giselle spun around and swatted Nephida in the stomach, opening her wounds wider, and finished with hard tap to her head forcing her back to the wall. She continued her onslaught of relentless beatings on both women without mercy. She was much stronger and wiser than the shadow creatures, much to Nephida and Jashel’s dismay.

“Don’t you see? You are nothing but fools! You cannot win, my power…” Giselle announced before she was interrupted by a great noise.

The sound of something ramming its way through the secret door caused Giselle to stop and turn. With an explosion, the room was filled with a bright light that began to force the darkness away. Three figures

could be seen moving through the blasted door in a great haste which pushed out the last of the dark shroud in the room. Jashel and Nephida struggled to focus their eyes. There they could see Moira and the two teenagers standing ready for a fight. Moira was concentrating on sending out a large orb of light which had broken the shadow spell and sent Giselle into a fit.

“Nooooo!” She screamed angrily before crouching down to the ground, overtaken by the power of the light.

Moira came out of her trance, but the orb remained, leaving the room illuminated. Jashel triumphantly smiled looking over at Nephida only to witness her collapse to the ground in pain.

“Nephida!” She yelled, running to her aid. “By the Maker!” Jashel exclaimed, as Nephida’s face was riddled with pain and exhaustion from the wound she held on her stomach.

“What happened?” Moira asked after running to the two ladies.

“She was struck by some shadow creature!…that woman conjured,” Jashel fired off as she rose to her feet, bearing a blade in each hand, staring at Giselle.

“No, Jashel,” Moira called out. “I can help her.”

Jashel turned back to see Moira begin to pray in an ancient tongue over Nephida. A golden light covered the injury for a brief moment before dissipating into nothing. When Moira removed her hands from over Nephida’s wound, the marks were gone and color had come back into her face. She only smiled in awe at the young healer.

“There, now you and Jashel need to get inside and help the army by turning off the turrets,” Moira commanded, helping Nephida to her feet.

“What about her?” Jashel asked as she gazed menacingly at Giselle who was slowly rising to her feet with the help of her staff.

“Leave her to me,” Moira replied. She waved her hand which opened the locked twin entrance doors, “Now go! These children need to earn their kingdom!”

Quickly the four began to leave the room. Giselle, now fully erect, only stood ogling her new opponent.

“What about Makaylen and Davien?” Nephida asked just before leaving the room.

“They’re big boys,” Moira answered, staring back at Giselle, “they can handle themselves against anything in this castle.”

Giselle began to laugh wickedly. Jashel, still quite angry at the sorceress, heard her laughter and turned back around through the open doors. With only a whistle to get Giselle’s attention, Jashel flung the vile she had placed in her pocket to the ground, smashing it to pieces and ruining the remnants inside. With a giggle and a wink, she left the room quite satisfied with herself.

Davien ran through the covered courtyard with a grin on his lips. More and more of the drones were following him which meant Makaylen should be clear of them. Noticing the many vandalized statues of royal lineage littering the area, he thought to himself, I couldn’t have made this place any better for me if I’d tried. He took off for cover behind an armless statue amid unattended bushes and trampled flowers. Peeking around the statue, Davien used the few shots he had left to mow down as many of the drones that he could as they entered the courtyard behind him. The light was becoming scarce as the sun was beginning to set giving off an eerie orange and red tinge to the lifeless courtyard. He quickly used up the last of his shots and pulled out his pistols unleashing a barrage of gun fire. The drones began to scramble in every direction trying to find cover. Having spent the last of his pistol rounds, Davien leaned up against the back of the statue to reload. When he peeked his head around again to fire, the drones were

standing as if at attention, and were not advancing. Blankly, they only stared in Davien’s direction not moving at all. Suddenly the sea of dead mechanical beings parted as someone very large walked through the mass.

“Jayhem!” Davien whispered to himself.

There before him was the now healed and newly armored killer bearing the insignia of the Dread Army. He looked deadlier than ever in his black armor and throwing knives slung across him like a steel sash. Jayhem wore a smile as he stopped about twenty feet from where Davien was crouching behind the statue. Haughtily, he circled around to model before his opponent the shiny and deadly weapons he bore upon himself.

“Come out, come out little helper,” he stated, looking directly into Davien’s eyes.

Davien holstered his pistols and stepped forward out from behind the statue, “So, you finally decided to slither out from your rock and surrender? I accept, now if you’ll just hand over your weapons we…”

Jayhem burst out in laughter, “You’re a funny little man aren’t you?”

“I’m not joking. You may as well surrender, because you are finished here,” Davien replied with strength in his voice.

Jayhem raised a brow as he stepped forward, “I’ll make you a wager then.”

“That’s far enough!” Davien called out. “I don’t make wagers with villains!”

Shaking his head, Jayhem said, “You sound too much like Makaylen. Well, friend of Makaylen, I guess we’ll see just how skilled you really are.”

“Yeah? You’ll see I’m full of surprises,” Davien replied, trying not to reveal how nervous he actually was.

“I’ll be more surprised if you don’t wet yourself,” Jayhem retorted, finishing with a maniacal laugh.

“Now, why don’t we keep this sporting and move to a more open area?”

Leading the way, Jayhem walked out into the large open middle of the courtyard where the cobblestone paths met making a large sunburst design. The dry dead hedges drooped across each path sounding with a crunch as both men stepped on them. The sun continued to dip down taking most of the scarce light which streamed in through the windows away with it. Davien feared the darkness would indeed hinder him. He wanted to get this fight started and ended as quickly as possible. However, he only had ten shots in each pistol left and Jayhem had much better weaponry. Fear began to settle into his heart as the two circled one another, about two yards apart, and fingered the grips of their pistols. Davien knew the odds were heavily against him, But let Shiloh’s will be done, he thought to himself before grabbing his pistol from its holster and firing three shots. He dove into a nearby hedge for cover from Jayhem’s sight. However, Jayhem’s agility was far superior and he’d begun to move before Davien had been able to fully withdraw his pistol. He’d returned fire with his own pistols grazing Davien’s calf. With a yelp of pain, Davien had lunged into the shrub. Now, Davien tried to shoot his opponent who nimbly flipped and bounded out of his range and sight, blending with the shadows of the coming darkness.

“Is that the best you have?” Jayhem taunted, flipping up onto a narrow ledge.

“No!” Davien breathlessly yelled. “I’ve got more for ya if you’d quit hiding like a coward and face me!”

He drew his right pistol from its holster and drew back the hammer, leaning around the hedge to see if he could spot his elusive opponent.

“Who said I was hiding?”

Davien spun back around to see that Jayhem was standing right in front of him. Jayhem delivered a sharp kick to his face causing Davien to fall over the hedge and lose both his pistols.

“I don’t have to hide from the likes of you,” Jayhem said sinisterly, walking towards the sprawled out Davien.

Davien tried desperately the feel for his pistols which were somewhere on the darkened ground, but Jayhem stepped on his right hand as it grew close to one of his guns. Davien cried out in pain, trying to muffle it as Jayhem began to grind his heel into the top of Davien’s hand. Grinning, Jayhem reached to his side and pulled out his bowie knife, which resembled a machete, and slapped Davien in the head with the flat of the blade.

“Why won’t you yell for me?” He teased. “Now, boy, I’m gonna gut you like a fish.”

As the spit from Jayhem’s sentence hit Davien’s face, he could feel the cold hard steel slide down his cheek. With a jerk of his hair, Davien’s neck was exposed. He winced as the edge of the knife slowly broke through the skin of his neck.

“You must have forgotten,” Jayhem gloated, “I’m a Guardsman and we…”

The smile on Jayhem’s victorious face fell with the sound of a pistol being cocked back. Suddenly a twin barreled pistol was in his face.

“Oh?” Davien said as he released two magnum rounds into Jayhem.

Jayhem’s body, which was bent over Davien, flew back with the blast and slid two feet across the cobblestone path. Davien staggered to his feet and hobbled on his wounded leg over to Jayhem in order to relinquish him of his weapons.

Talking to his fallen opponent, Davien said, “Well, you must not have known that I’ve been slapped enough to know how to function through pain.” Glancing around him he noticed that the drones seemed to have been deactivated, “Well Shiloh, I guess you do have future plans for me after all.”

Shaking his head, as he hobbled out of the courtyard hoping to be able to find and assist Makaylen, he

thought to himself words that both Makaylen and Chris had said to him once, ‘With Shiloh on your side, there is nothing we can’t defeat or conquer.’ How true this statement must be for him to still be alive.